First day of Fall

With that first day of Fall, let’s remember some changes in temperature can occur and be extremely sensitive or suddenly severe especially in some areas such as the Mid-West and/or when your wines are shipped from far away sailing with a long transit time making difficult the anticipation of temperature upon arrival.

Please note that the coverage of "alteration of temperature" with a container equipped with thermal blanket is suspended during the period from November 1 (date of arrival) through March 31rst for any shipment going to the Mid-West Area – Great Lakes area or any “remote” inland destinations.

So it is recommended to use reefer containers to prevent and protect your wines with that upmost solution.

Hurricane Harvey

First of all, we feel really sorry for all our friends, customers and their families who have been facing this unprecedented and catastrophic flooding.

After a 4-day period, over 10,000 people were rescued across Texas, 30,000 were displaced and over 20 deaths.

Many locations in the Houston metro area observed at least 30 in of precipitation with a maximum of 50 in which makes Harvey the wettest tropical cyclone on record for Texas and the contiguous United States. Heavy rainfall extended eastward into Louisiana with records up to 15 in.

Preliminary estimates of economic losses range between $40 to $50 billion (the Houston area controls 4% of the spending power in USA).

Seaports in Houston and Corpus Christi have been closed to most ships since Friday August 25th and the freight traffic is promised to disrupt for days (weeks) with no idea when freight companies will resume operations.

It will quickly impact the nation's transportation network, affecting retailers and manufacturers far from Texas. Other cities could see a shortage of trucks with increasing rates. Railroad backlogs will also take weeks to be cleaned as some services are suspended especially bound for Houston and surrounding areas.

On a daily basis, 40 to 50 vessels are in and out from Houston port. Numerous ships (oil tankers, container carriers, cruise ships …) are anchored in the Gulf of Mexico. Carriers could also wait offshore because flooded roads will keep dockworkers or trucks from carrying cargo out.